Apocalypse Dudes

Halfway between Black Flag and the Spiders from Mars, this is loud and fast and dumb as hell. Its got the high energy and directness of a punk band paired with the hooky bombast of a classic rock arena band. The thing is, Guns N Roses already perfected this formula. They're an early entry in the turn of the millennium back to basics 1234! Rock and Roll! sound alongside the Hives and White Stripes - just ok backwards looking revival party music harkening back to the garage. They're good at it and I see how'd they could be band to see live (for 25 minutes opening for a better act) but it's all incredibly familiar sounding and so unoriginal and the album goes on forever and ever and it's all the same. Pretty much the definition of disposable rock and as far from essential listening as you can get.

An album called "Apocalypse Dudes" ooh I don't know about this.

Not great. Doesn't come from a sincere place, all style and no substance. It's like they are consciously trying to make a mash-up of every heavy rock genre from glam to proto-punk (a term I violently disagree with, but that's for another time) to hair-metal. Well executed but puerile, with some very professional (too professional) playing. Anything resembling the sonic character of heavier genres like punk - the DIY aesthetic, a garage sound, etc. - are not present on this. Maybe that's the point.

The best thing here is the instrumental break on "Prince of the Rodeo" which is otherwise almost unlistenable.

Solo me suena el nombre del grupo. Ya sé quienes eran. Prefiero los Hives y me han entrado ganas de escuchar Barracuda. Prescindible para mí, aunque no es malo.

Seriously fun hard rock.

3.5/5

Such a strange album. Really not great. 1.5/5

I had pretty low hopes for this given the terrible band name. It marginally exceeded them; some of this was ok despite the sophomoric lyrics. Some of it sounded a bit like the Hives.

Quintessential rock and roll. This is what happens in my head when I say "Rock Out"!

The music wasn’t terrible but the lyrics and vocals were.

It was fun until it was too much

Cool, but not immediately attention-grabbing. Any one of these songs would fit in well on pretty much any of my playlists, but I don't think anyone would feel the need to search out who the artist was. Very good, but not great. I will listen to their other stuff when I get a chance though.

I went into Apocalypse Dudes expecting loud, outrageous, over the top rock and roll. I do not mind swagger or silliness if the songs back it up. Unfortunately, this one just did not land for me at all.

It leans heavily into parody and glam infused sleaze, but instead of feeling sharp or knowing, it felt cartoonish. The whole thing came across like a poor man’s Spinal Tap, all attitude and excess without enough genuinely strong songs underneath. The riffs are big and brash, but after a while it all starts to blur into one long exaggerated joke.

I can see how the tongue in cheek style and camp bravado would appeal to some. There is clearly a cult energy to it, and I imagine it would be chaotic fun live. On record though, it felt more irritating than entertaining.

It is not one I will be revisiting.

This album is absolutely what I hoped it would not be after the first 2 tracks – a kind of PS2 butt rock soundtrack.

If you were to just listen to a random song off this album, it’s probably a great burst of energy. Like, if you threw this album into a workout playlist and had a song occasionally come up on shuffle, I’m sure it would be a great boost. Yet, as a listening experience for a whole album, due to the lack of variance, it’s absolutely the least enjoyable of what we’ve done so far, at least to my ears, and I’m rating it a 2.

It’s punk music 3/5

I first heard of Turbonegro last summer on the Covino and Rich Show podcast. Covino was talking about listening to their song "All My Friends Are Dead". I was curious about what they sounded like, so I gave them a listen, and thoroughly enjoyed what I heard!

These guys are punk/hard rock from Norway. They don't take themselves too seriously, singing songs with titles such as: I Got Erection, Blow Me (Like The Wind), Hobbit Motherfuckers, Shake Your Shit Machine, and Stroke the Shaft to name a few. People who get easily offended won't like these guys, but that's kind of the point.

I have listened to "best of" lists of theirs on Spotify, but never heard this record cover to cover. I knew the song Rendezvous With Anus, but that was about it, so I was looking forward to hearing some more of their stuff today!

Unlike what most people think, Turbonegro isn't racist at all! The band claims that the name is in reference to their style of music:
Turbo = fast
Negro = dark

Overall, a great album! Don't take anything too seriously, and you may enjoy it too. The instrumentation is unapologetically fast and thrashy, and the lyrics are simplistic and hilarious. The first song on the record, The Age of Pamparius, is about making a pizza! I will absolutely listen again, and was excited to see that they made the list!

Favourite songs: Monkey on Your Back, Prince of the Rodeo, Rendezvous With Anus, Are You Ready (For Some Darkness), Humiliation Street, Rock Against Ass, Get It On, Selfdestructo Bust, "Don't Say Motherfucker, Motherfucker", The Age of Pamparius, Zillion Dollar Sadist, Good Head

Least favourite song: Back to Dungaree High

5/5

What the fuck is this doing on the list?

From the tongue in cheek opening, felt like Spinal Tap-esque homage to The Beatles and Britpop, I was ready for some non-serious euro-punk-rock fun... and it sure did deliver! 3.5

Forgettable punk rock, not sure it deserves its place on the list.

My friend Huw recommended this to me at least 15 years ago. Great stuff, punk, but melodic.

Fun dumb rock. Not really worth being a \"must hear\" album to me but it's enjoyable. Kinda cringey sometimes though.

Its a send up of a lot of classic rock sounds from the late 70s and early 80s. The hard rock sounds are somehow nostalgic and new. While i think it goes hard, I havent found something to really latch onto. I am also not a huge fan of the singers voice with this sound.